Wednesday, July 30, 2014

I mentioned in my Instagram Lately that I spent this past weekend at Monmouth Park Racetrack's William Hill Haskell Invitational as a guest of America's Best Racing. The whole weekend was a big celebration at the track in honor of the namesake race on Sunday evening, and Saturday was Ladies' Day. There were so many fun events geared towards getting ladies to come to come out to watch the races; there were fancy hats, a fashion show, and more! I took my Mom and a friend of hers, and we headed out for a day of fun.

Ladies' Day was sponsored by the Lilly Pulitzer Shops at Riverside. For the event they had one of the beautiful Lilly Jeeps, which I absolutely loved! When we walked in they had it parked next to the intricate sandcastle that was designed just for the Haskell weekend. Of course we had to get a picture with the Jeep as soon as we could. The best part was that you were gifted a Lilly change purse if you took a photo with the Jeep, which made it that much better.

For the weekend America's Best Racing had their tour bus stationed at Monmouth Park Racetrack. This tour bus was so nice, and was awesome to get to spend the day on. The bus had several different televisions with races on, cushy seating, air conditioning (which was very much appreciated), a private bathroom, and food and drinks. It was perfect to relax on between races and to stop for a bite to eat. {Fun Fact: During the year this bus is used for different things including transporting the University of Kentucky's Men's Basketball Team!}

Because it was Ladies' Day there were several different vendors at the park including a hat vendor. The Lilly Pulitzer shop had a tent there as well and put on a fabulous fashion show that we really enjoyed. I loved getting to see the clothes on people as opposed to on hangers because for me it really made all the difference; there were dresses that I loved during the fashion show that I had previously not liked in stores.

Then we of course played the ponies because how can you not when you're at a racetrack? While I'm really there for the atmosphere more than the betting it was exciting when I did win a little money on the race I bet on! It's always fun when you win a little something (even if it's just a few dollars). Although I do love just watching the horses run and feeling the energy around me. It makes you realize what an amazing sport horse racing is.

We had such a great time during Ladies' Day at Monmouth Park Racetrack. It was really a special day that showcased how glamorous racing really is. Thank you to America's Best Racing, especially Ambassador Victoria, for having us. Later in the week I will have all the details about Sunday, the big race day!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

So every Tuesday for the past few weeks I have been sharing pictures from a school trip to Greece that I took at the end of May/beginning of June. Today I have pictures from my stay on Santorini. While on Santorini we stayed in Kamari Beach and I will have pictures from there next week, but this week I have pictures from a day we spent in beautiful Fira. Fira is a town on Santorini, and it is one of the towns where all those amazing pictures of the white buildings along cliffs are taken. (I have to warn you that Santorini was super windy when we were there so my hair is kind of crazy in all of these pictures!)

As you can see Fira is situated on the top of cliffs, and the views are absolutely breathtaking. It is a very busy town that is filled with shops, restaurants, and more. It felt like we could have spent forever looking around as there was no shortage of activities to keep busy, and there was something different going on everywhere you turned. It was easy to get caught up in all the chaos, but I wanted to remember to keep taking in the sights around me.

We took a cable car down the side of the cliffs, which was an amazing experience. I'm actually terrified of heights so I was really proud of how well I did with this and that I didn't freak out at all. I'm so glad that I got to experience this because it is something that I will never forget. The sights on the way down the cliffs were some of the most spectacular I have ever seen.

The reason for taking a cable car down the cliff was so that we could ride donkeys back up it! This is honestly one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life, and something I will talk about forever. They gave me the biggest donkey out of everyone on the trip (it honestly was more like a small horse), and I'm not going to lie it was a bit scary! The donkeys are trained to walk along the edge of the walkway, which I think is what scared me, but is so funny to think about now. At the end of the ride they have someone that takes your picture and then you can buy it, normally I'm not into this, but I had to get it to bring home to my mom! If you are in Santorini you absolutely must go to Fira to ride the donkeys, it is something you will never forget.

Everywhere you turned in Fira it seemed as though there was another picture that had to be taken. I really love having my own pictures of those iconic white buildings. If you're going to Santorini I would say look into staying in Fira because the hotels there looked great. Like I said above we stayed in Kamari Beach, and our hotel was terrible I wouldn't even bother visiting Kamari if you didn't have to, but I a bunch of pictures and information on that for next time! I just feel like if you're coming to Santorini you want to stay on the nicer part of the island where you see all the pretty pictures from.

We had dinner at a really great rooftop taverna that I of course cannot remember the name of. My favorite part was the views we had of the sunset while we were eating. I've heard that Fira has one of the most gorgeous sunsets in all of Greece, which I think says a lot. If you go to Santorini you must go to Fira (if you don't stay there that is)!